


You can't (Save Me)

by RoseTinting



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, monster au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:47:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21740104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseTinting/pseuds/RoseTinting
Summary: When people give into their darker feelings they mutate into monsters. Though the standard procedure is to hunt and destroy these unfortunate souls, Ino Yamanaka hopes to instead find a cure and bring them back to humanity. She's finally been granted the chance with a man who's only partially transformed.
Relationships: Deidara & Yamanaka Ino
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Despair is in

**Author's Note:**

> This is an au I've discussed with my friend many times but I didn't work on writing it for a while. It's a personal favorite au though, and my second favorite Deidara ship. I didn't proofread this one I'm just sending it out as is. It was nice to lose myself writing this since I was really stressed out and anxious and it helped me relax.   
> I hope people like the idea as much as I do.

Ino adjusted her blouse nervously, trying to tuck the bit that had managed to escape from under the waistline of her skirt as she sat on her tiny couch in the living room. She'd been given an incredibly rare opportunity in her research of the plague that was corrupting humanity to actually try to treat one of the afflicted. Normally once a person had become a monster they were destroyed entirely and as soon as possible. It was also rare to be able to see someone who'd only changed a part of the way. Ino glanced at the file again and confirmed this information, He just had a few extra mouths and fangs in his original, as well as one of his eyes having had it's sclera turn black and the damage to the body was usually much more severe. She'd even managed to convince Tsunade, the head of research into the problem, to let her keep him in her apartment. Though it was a battle hard won and Tsunade had insisted in the end that Ino keep him sedated at night and when she let the house he was to be left under guard. The source of Ino's anxiety was her uncertainty she could keep a handle on this guy or even succeed in helping him.

Ino almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the knock at the door and leaped up to fling the door open. Shikamaru and Chōji, her former hunting companions, stood supporting a blond haired man who's head had lolled forward so his hair covered his face.

Ino bounced on her heels tapping her fingers together partially in excitement and partially in fear as she exclaimed "Is that him? They sent you two? I mean of course it's him who else would you be dragging into my house when I'm expecting-"

"Ino, please." Shikamaru held up one hand like he as trying to shield himself from her rambling. "One thought at a time, getting this thing up the stairs was hard enough."

"He's not a thing!" Ino protested trying to help them support her new patient into the room. "He's a _person_."

"He's heavy," Chōji said, though Ino suspected he only thought so because he was probably shouldering the majority of the weight. Or maybe Shikamaru was somehow adding his own weight out of sheer lazy force of will. Ino barely stopped herself from laughing at her own joke.

"Are you sure about this?" Shikamaru asked as he and Chōji managed to dump the guy on her couch. "This just seems dangerous, having one of them in your house."

"I can handle myself! You know that, since you made me do the brunt of the work anyway!" Ino smacked her friend on the back of the head gently.

"Whatever you say, Ino. Arguing with you is too tedious."

Chōji grinned at him and pointed at Ino's motionless guest. "She's right though, that's the only one we've caught since she became a medic full time."

Ino watched as Deidara stirred on the couch. "I've got this."

* * *

The first meeting hadn't exactly gone as Ino hoped, her new patient had so far growled at her and snapped at Shikamaru, who'd cleared out as fast as possible with Chōji in tow. She'd never seen them move so fast in her life. Ino set out incense to see if aromatherapy would have any effect. She'd set up a chaise longue in her spare bedroom next to an armchair, though it was the stereotypical set up for psychoanalysis it was going to be easier since she had to keep Deidara in a straitjacket. Beyond that she'd brought in flowers from her family's shop just to make the place more cheerful. Deidara was staring at them now, seeming almost peaceful when moments before she'd caught him trying to squirm free of his restraints. It wasn't the first time she'd had to reset a dislocated shoulder but it was the first time she had to do it while dodging bites from someone who'd popped it out of place on purpose. Ino sat carefully in the chair feeling a little self conscious even though she was being completely ignored.

"So, uh," Ino began watching Deidara cautiously, "Why don't we start with... how did this happen? Do you remember?"

Deidara turned his stare on her, his visible eye was the one that hadn't turned black. He snarled at her but said nothing.

"I'm trying to help you, you know. All I'm asking is your cooperation, just try to answer." Ino made sure her tape recorder was on, she'd hate to get something only to completely forget it. She might as well have not bothered because the only answer she got was an annoyed snort as Deidara turned his head away from her. "Okay I get it, you'd rather be out wreaking havoc or whatever you were doing when they found you."

"I'd rather," He growled back without turning around, "Not be treated like an animal. Shouldn't your little report say everything? I wasn't doing anything, hmm."

Ino could have sighed with relief but she was worried Deidara might take offense. "It said you blew up a hospital wing."

"Oh, yeah I guess I did." Deidara moved to look at her again, and Ino was chilled by his smile. "That wasn't on purpose, hmm, it just happened."

"Yeah?" Ino wondered if the speech impediment was there before the young man had mutated. "Well if you can promise it won't just happen again I could take the jacket off. Just when I'm here, I'm supposed to be keeping you under tight control and my superiors will likely drag you off and burn you if I disobey them openly." She watched him carefully for any tells, a sign he was trying to deceive her. It was evident his trust would be crucial in making him open up so she could get to the bottom of the malady.

Deidara just looked thoughtful. "I'm not afraid to die, are you, hmm? It's not a threat, relax." Ino could hear his annoyance at her obvious discomfort and forced herself to look more relaxed. "I don't care about any of this, I just want to be free,"

"You could be free... in the apartment? And if I can cure you you're definitely free," Ino offered even as she pushed back her frustration. She hated having to play nice for this childish man. He'd been growling and biting like an animal and sulked for being treated like one! Guys like that made her mad, they didn't seem to understand consequences.

"Cure me?" Deidara looked confused for a moment but then laughed. "The monster thing? I kinda like it. It could be interesting though, hmm. People might actually take interest in my art with that kind of story attached."

"Oh, you're an artist?" Ino tried to look interested though she didn't care to hear about whatever overly dark manga he was working on. She was starting to think just being a deranged sociopath was how you became a monster but it was only her first impression of him and she had to accept that she was letting bias color her opinion.

He didn't answer the question, just looked at her with one blue eye in what was the most successful instances of "puppy dog eyes" Ino had ever seen a man pull off.

"Oh my god, was all that just to get me interested so I'd take the ropes off?" The twitch of Deidara's mouth as he stopped a smile was all the answer Ino needed. "You're going to be a pest. Fine, but before I can trust you, you need to start trusting me."

Deidara stuck his tongue out at her, but he still grinned as he said, "So what's with the one on one talk? Shouldn't doctors have been... examining corpses to find the source?"

"No," Ino murmured now unable to meet his eye, "They couldn't find anything conclusive so they've decided it might be a combination of a dormant gene activated by some kind of psychosis. All the people who change have a history of mental illness, including you. But you didn't change all the way, so you might actually be the key to unraveling it."

"Nothing to unravel here." Deidara was back to growling words at her and he rolled over to face the wall instead of her now. "If I was up for talking about my mental state I would have left a note."

"Right," Ino said before coughing uncomfortably into her hand. "It'd just be useful to know how you were feeling-"

"How do you THINK I WAS FEELING?" Deidara snapped though it was slightly muffled by the wall in front of him.

They were getting nowhere, Ino realized. She was really going to have to win Deidara over before she could get inside his head. She stood to move toward him and his head snapped in her direction to glare, fangs bared. Ino held her hands up and she realized she still held the recorder. She slipped it into her shirt pocket as she explained. "I'm going to take the jacket off, okay? So we can just try to get along and not hurt each other. That means no biting." She glanced down at where his hands would be, with the extra mouths he'd gained from his mutation. "With anything."

He looked away from her again, not acknowledging that she'd said anything. Carefully, Ino undid the jacket, helping him out of it. He got up slowly, rubbing his arms which were bruised up from either his capture or his previous thrashing around, Probably both. He didn't make eye contact with her, just muttered a resentful "thanks."

Ino hadn't thought this was going to be easy, but she hadn't thought it would be like this either. She wasn't even sure if it would take more or less time than anticipated, she could only hope she could keep Deidara from transforming any further. It was her only shot to save his, and many other's lives.


	2. Tragic with a capital T

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deidara learns something about himself! But it's not what Ino was hoping to discover.

Ino fluffed the new pillow one last time before placing it with care on her guest bed.

"That was unnecessarily neat," Deidara said from the chaise longue, which he seemed to have taken a liking to. He wasn't nearly as lazy as Shikamaru but Ino strongly suspected he enjoyed laying around the house all day.

"It's really satisfying though, to have things in order," Ino told him with a backward glance. "I shouldn't be surprised you don't think that, since you blew up the last pillow."

Deidara sat up a little more crossing his legs and resting his hands on his feet. "Still an accident! I don't know why that's happening, hmm."

"Well, you were angry this morning so I suspect it's tied to your emotional state. And the more intense the feeling the more damage you cause." Ino loved discussing her theories about how monsters worked, though Deidara seemed to find it annoying since it was usually about him. This time he actually looked interested as he listened to her with his head tilted like a puppy. "I also think because of your mutation involving mouths, and because you drool in your sleep and were much more feral at the hospital, it's your saliva that makes things explode."

"Gross! But kinda cool too. So, what I get angry and things blow up, hmm?"

"I didn't think it was any particular emotion... are you saying you were angry at the hospital?" Ino sat down next to him, most people would never sit that close to one of the monsters but Ino was determined to prove her trust, fake or not.

Deidara didn't answer her question, he was focusing on the throw pillow he'd picked up. "Um. Are you trying to blow that up? Could you... not?" Ino asked holding out her hand for it. He passed it to her with a sigh.

"Yes, I was angry then. But I'm usually angry, hmm." He finally responded. "Are you going to let me blow anything up? It's cool! Oh, or it might help your research, hmm."

Ino considered that for a moment. "Well... I guess I could get you something you're allowed to blow up."

"Clay!" Ino turned to Deidara in surprise at the actual joy in his voice. "It's... what I work with anyway."

"Oh you're an artist, right. You mentioned that before. Alright, I'll get you clay." Ino was a little surprised to learn Deidara had worked with clay, she usually thought of artists as painters or someone who drew manga.

"Hey, do you really think it's going to be as easy as going around and... fixing people? You can't just change the way someone feels and you really can't just get rid of a mental illness." Deidara's voice had something of a resentful edge to it and to Ino it made sense. Deidara already disliked the system and he really didn't like taking pills. Ino was letting him get away with not taking the tranquilizers she was very clearly told to use at night and when leaving.

"No, I don't think I can 'fix' people. And I don't think it's just a disorder that causes it, there has to be another catalyst for it since not everyone transforms. I mean look at you, you're still mostly like you were. The picture from when you were first caught you look... ah no offense but you look scarier, more like a monster. And right now as long as I don't look closely enough to see the mouths on your hands, or the fangs... you just look like nothing happened." Ino patted his hand in a way she hoped was reassuring. He didn't pull away so she presumed he didn't mind the contact.

"The idea is really more to try to see how it happens and if it can be reversed. At the very least we have evidence you're all still human." Ino thought about the people she'd known and lost over time to the apparent epidemic. "I want people to stop dying and get the help they need, that's all."

"By people you mean... the ones like me and the ones who aren't, right, hmm?"

"I do," Ino agreed, touched that he hadn't thought she meant just normal humans. It seemed like he was already beginning to trust her. "I have to go to the hospital soon, they're short staffed and need me in. Stay in here and think calm thoughts! Okay?"

"Ugh!" Deidara rolled his eye at her. "No shit. Whoever is on duty won't even know I'm in here."

"Okay don't be that good, they might check on you and realize you're not under sedation." She smiled at him noting to herself that it was genuine. Despite Deidara's rough nature she was starting to actually like him. Ino had originally intended to keep Deidara at an emotional arm's length distance but it didn't seem to be completely possible. I'm too good at being friendly, Ino decided. As she was moving to get up and leave Deidara gently grabbed her wrist. Ino met his eyes ignoring her pounding heart and pushing down her instinctive reaction to fight, his hold was light so he obviously wasn't being aggressive.

"Ino?" He let go of her hand but kept eye contact.

"Yeah, Deidara?"

"If this is going to work, you're going to have to take me seriously as an artist. Or I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

Like a difficult child this one. "Got it."

* * *

When Ino finally got home it was 3 in the morning. She nodded hiding her relief when Kiba said everything had been quiet and immediately collapsed on the couch. She'd meant to stop by an art supply store on her way back from the hospital, but they'd kept her so long everything was closed already. She lay face down for a moment, wondering if Deidara was asleep or just still in the guest room hiding from Kiba when his voice answered her question.

"You look like hell. Shouldn't you be in your bed?"

"Shower first," Ino mumbled, "then bed. Maybe food."

She heard him laugh at her then felt him poke her shoulder. "You're not getting any of the done there on the couch."

"Deidara, you're being annoying," Ino informed him, moving her head to glare at him.

"Oh, too tired for manners now? I like this version of you better. You should be more honest with your feelings like this." He was grinning at her, clearly delighted.

"Go away." Ino told him, and was a little shocked when he did in fact walk away. She lay for a few more minutes and was just about to drift off when he came back.

"You really shouldn't sleep there, you'll be sore tomorrow." Deidara set a teacup on her coffee table. "Here, now move." He lifted her up into a sitting position, even as she did her best to remain as lifeless as a ragdoll, and sat down next to her. She was more annoyed that he was still propping her up. "While I have you captive out here, and you're obviously not getting ready for bed, let me tell you about my second favorite art movement called da-"

"Gah!" Ino stood up quickly and headed for the shower. If he was trying to annoy her into actually going to bed it was working.

"Ino! Your tea."

Ino looked back at him, then at the tea. "Oh, thank you. That was... nice of you."

She'd never seen anyone look offended before when they were told that. "I have a reputation of being a complete bastard to uphold you know, don't say things like that."

When Ino had drank the tea, brushed her teeth, and showered she let her head hit the pillow and started to drift off. Until a thought made her eyes fly open. The tea had been chamomile and she didn't have any chamomile tea in the apartment when she left. Where the hell did Deidara get it? The exhaustion of the day was keeping her from getting back up to investigate. She'd just have to interrogate him tomorrow. If he had managed to sneak out past Kiba and was going to make a regular habit of breaking out and going around town unsupervised he was going to get himself killed and there was no way Ino was going to let her patient she fought hard for go so easily.


End file.
